The New York Observer reported yesterday that over 100 blocks of West Harlem will be rezoned to prevent taller buildings to dominate the skyline:
LINK. This apparently was a reaction to Columbia University developing 17 acres of far west Manhattanville and the new plan will protect the areas between 125th to 155th Street. Interestingly enough, the height restrictions will be mitigated to encourage developers who want to build up for affordable housing. Before Columbia's arrival, allowing affordable housing to build higher was the key factor in changing Manhattanville's low-rise blocks (case in point is 3333 Broadway at the top photo and the Grant Houses). West 145th Street especially should be a big topic at tonight's community board meeting since the loophole in the contextual height regulation will also help developers to demolished P.S. 186 (lower photo) and build a new taller building not in line with its surroundings. Affordable housing will always be a major topic in New York City but adaptive reuse should really be the focus for affordable conversions in our opinion. Read more about the efforts to save P.S. 186 in our past post:
LINK
I was at the meeting last night and this information isn't quite accurate. West Harlem hasn't been rezoned since 1961, and currently there are NO height restrictions on buildings. The new rezoning plans call for height restrictions of between 6 and 12 stories, depending on the part of the neighborhood. The exact details should hopefully be on the NYC Dept of City Planning's website next week.
ReplyDelete